FED REMAIN HAWKISH WHILE ANTIPODEAN CURRENCIES MAKE STRONG GAINS

FOMC UNCHANGED

The US dollar recovered early week losses after the Federal Open Market Committee policy statement struck a hawkish tone, bolstering the chances of a December rate hike from the US Federal Reserve. The US dollar Index had been under selling pressure earlier this week as the US mid-term election results provided a mixed-result, paving the way for potential political gridlock in Washington over the next two years. However, the US dollar soon regained its composure, as the FOMC kept rates unchanged and remained bullish on the overall outlook for United States economy.

The USDJPY pair is bullish while trading above the 112.90 level, key resistance is found at the 114.40 and 115.00 levels.

If the USDJPY pair trades below the 112.90 level, key support is found at the 112.50 and 111.10 levels.

KIWI RISES

The New Zealand dollar rose sharply against the US dollar this week, after much better than expected unemployment data from the New Zealand economy and a more hawkish tone from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. The NZDUSD pair surged towards the 0.6800 level as the nations unemployment rate tumbled to its lowest level since 2008, hitting 3.9 per cent. The RBNZ monetary policy statement also emphasized the recent positive developments in the New Zealand economy, but maintained rates were likely to remain low for some time to come.

The NZDUSD pair is bullish while trading above the 0.6700 level, key resistance is found at the 0.6855 and 0.6910 levels.

If the NZDUSD pair trades below the 0.6700 level, key support is found at the 0.6655 and 0.6585 levels.

CRYPTOCURRENCIES SIDELINED

The broader cryptocurrency eeked out marginal gains this week, as the US Securities and Exchange Commission announced that they were preparing to make their much-awaited announcement on a potential Bitcoin ETF. Ethereum and Litecoin were amongst the top-performers earlier this week, with Bitcoin Cash advancing the most amongst the top-ten cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. The BTCUSD pair made tepid gains, as the number one cryptocurrency suffered from a lack of buying interest above the $6,500 level and low trading volumes ahead of the US SEC ruling.

The ETHUSD pair is bullish while trading above the $215.00 level, further gains towards the $240.00 and $257.00 levels seem possible.

If the ETHUSD pair trades above the $215.00 level, losses towards the $200.00 and $180.00 support levels remains possible.

AUSSIE GAINS

The Australian dollar moved sharply higher against the greenback this week, as a mixture of positive Chinese data and US dollar weakness boosted the Aussie above the 0.7300 level. The Chinese economy posted much better than expected trade data, bolstering the AUDUSD pair as fears over a slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy subsided. The Reserve Bank of Australia kept rates on hold at 1.50 per cent as widely expected this week as household spending remained low, keeping the outlook for the Australian economy uncertain.

The AUDUSD pair is bullish while trading above the 0.7238 level, key resistance is found at the 0.7340 and 0.7380 levels.

If the AUDUSD pair trades below the 0.7238 level, further losses towards the 0.7180 and 0.7150 support levels remains possible.